3

The Theology of Sacraments in theRoman Catholic Church

Kevin Brogan

AbstractOne of the most endearing features of the Bahá’í Faith is its openness topeople of different beliefs and traditions. But that openness demands aknowledge of the belief systems of the people with whom one is in dialogue.This paper attempts to enter into a dialogue between the theology of RomanCatholic Sacraments and the Bahá’í response to that theology.

IntroductionOne cannot ignore the part played by the Sacraments in the life of a RomanCatholic. While there may be a decline in the actual belief that people have in theSacraments, they continue to be administered at crucial points in an individual’s life.Perhaps it is because they are thus administered that they still hold such importance.Many Catholics today may see the Sacraments as mere empty formulae, but otherssee them as stepping stones along the path to eternal life, whereby the believer isinfused with the Grace of God at significant points in their lives: they are seen assignifying no less than Christ’s hand in humankind’s redemption. The intention of this paper is to examine the background to the Sacraments, theircentral importance to Catholic belief and their significance in the tradition of theRoman Catholic Church. It would not be possible to treat each of the Sacramentsadequately in this space, but it is hoped that a detailed explanation of the Eucharistwill give Bahá’ís some understanding of the importance of Sacraments in RomanCatholicism.

What are Sacraments?The seven Roman Catholic Sacraments are: Baptism, Penance, Confirmation,Eucharist (or Mass), Marriage, Holy Orders and Sacrament of the Sick (formerly“Extreme Unction”). The Church tells us that Sacraments are “the signs andinstruments by which the Holy Spirit spreads the grace of Christ, the Head,throughout the Church which is His Body” (The Catechism of the CatholicChurch, Section 774). The noun “sacrament” is derived from the Latinsacramentum, originally “a military oath” taken by Roman soldiers not to deserttheir standard, turn their back on the enemy or abandon their general (traces ofwhich survive in early Christian usage), but whose present meaning comes from itsemployment in the Latin New Testament to mean “sacred mystery.” As onereceives each Sacrament, he or she experiences the Grace of Jesus Christ andultimately of God in a deeper way than experienced in previous Sacraments: oneexperiences God in a deeper way when one receives the Sacrament of Confirmationthan when one is baptised. In the Vatican Council Document (“The Constitutionon Sacred Liturgy,” Section 59), we are told that the “purpose of the Sacraments isto sanctify men, to build up the body of Christ [the Church] and finally to giveworship to God.”

4

However, they also act as a form of instruction. Usually before one receives theSacrament, one goes through detailed instruction about that Sacrament and itssignificance in the Christian life of the individual and the community. We see thisespecially in the case of adult Baptism, Penance (Confession), First Communion(Eucharist), Marriage, and Holy Orders. Bahá’ís might be familiar with the elaboratepreparations for First Confession and Holy Communion among children in primaryschools and also the preparation for Confirmation when the child reaches abouteleven years of age. Much of this preparation concerns instruction in the meaning ofthe Sacrament being received. The person who is to receive it must have a strongChristian faith, but at the same time the celebration of the Sacrament helps theparticipant to nourish, strengthen and express his or her faith still further. That iswhy they are called “sacraments of faith” (Vatican Documents : The Constitutionon Sacred Liturgy).

Sacramental GraceIn addition to this, the Church teaches that for believers, the Sacraments are arequirement for salvation and entry to eternal life (The Council of Trent, 1547). Thereason for this is that Christ - through the Holy Spirit - bestows “SacramentalGrace.” This grace (which comes from the Latin gratia or “gift”) is defined as “aparticipation in the life of God” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section1997) and is the “gratuitous [free] gift that God makes to us of his own life,infused by the Holy Spirit into our soul to heal it of sin and to sanctify it” (Ibid.,Section 1999). Without this, one cannot participate in eternal life with God. Morethan a gift, therefore, it is a relationship with God. Bahá’u’lláh, in the Kitáb-i-Íqán (the Book of Certitude), also highlights thisrelationship when He says: “...for the highest and most excelling grace bestowedupon men is the grace of attaining unto the Presence of God, and of Hisrecognition, which has been promised unto all people” (p. 138). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá alsohighlights the importance of grace in the spiritual life of a believer: “It is evident thatthe souls receive grace from the bounty of the Holy Spirit which appears in theManifestations of God. Therefore, if a soul does not receive grace from thebounties of the Holy Spirit, he remains deprived of the divine gift...” (SomeAnswered Questions, p. 128). He goes on to state: “Therefore, it is evident thatthe spirit of Christ is a heavenly grace which descends from heaven; whosoeverreceives light from that spirit in abundance - that is to say, the heavenly teachings -finds everlasting life” (p. 98). While ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is saying that the Holy Spirit gives us eternal life through theteachings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Catholic Church also teaches that the Holy Spirit isreceived by reading the Word of God or Bible (The Dogmatic Constitution onDivine Revelations: Vatican Council Documents); in addition, the believer receivesthe Holy Spirit in a special way through the rituals and symbols enacted inparticipating in the Sacraments.

Sacraments as the Continuation of Jesus’ RevelationA key role played by the Sacraments is that when the Church celebrates them,“she confesses the faith received from the Apostles” (Catechism of the Catholic

5

Church, Section 1124), and indeed from Christ Himself. It is He Who acts in andthrough the Sacraments and communicates the grace that each Sacrament signifies.In this we are being told that the Sacraments go back to the time of the earlyChurch, and have been given to us by Christ. If one examines the Gospel,however, one does not find any account of Jesus prescribing the Sacraments indetail. The Church explains that while Jesus did not directly institute the Sacramentswhile He was on earth, He nevertheless instituted them through the Apostles andtheir successors. The Gospel reference to Jesus’ appointment of Peter as first Pope -the so-called Petrine Clause - is used to explain this:

“...thou art Peter [Gk. Petros], and upon this rock [petra] I will build mychurch; and the gates of hell [Hades] shall not prevailagainst it. And I willgive thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bindon earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose onearth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19).

The Council of Trent (1545-63), the 19th ecumenical gathering of the RomanCatholic Church, which, in response to the Protestant Reformation, initiated a generalreform of the church and precisely defined its essential dogmas, stated in 1547:

Adhering to the teaching of Holy Scripture, to the apostolic tradition and tothe consensus… of the Fathers, the sacraments of the new law were… allinstituted by Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church (Section 1115) tells us that “the mysteriesof Christ’s life are the foundations of what he would henceforth dispense in thesacraments through the ministers of his church.” This means that the unfoldingmysteries of Jesus through the ages are being revealed in the Sacraments and thatthrough them, He is revealing Himself to suit the needs of every age. This Revelationof Jesus in the Sacraments is being carried out through His ministers - the bishopsand priests - who are seen as the direct link with the apostles and therefore withJesus Himself. Since the existence of the Apostles’ Creed as a formula from aboutthe second century, the Church has, since the eleventh century, formally defineditself as “Catholic and Apostolic”. One can see here again the need that the early Church had for putting theChristian faith under the authority of bishops and priests. Because the Sacramentsare important steps in the life of a believer, the doctrine around them was verymuch influenced by the need to have an authoritarian priesthood. When theSacraments were first instituted in the first or second century, it was necessary toemphasise the direct line with the Apostles and with Christ Himself. The bishops andpriests, as the successors to the Apostles, acted as administrators of the sacraments,as in today’s Church. This was necessary at that time because of the fear of schismand because it was necessary to keep the purity of Jesus’ teachings intact. (It couldbe said that this also happened in the Bahá’í Faith with the succession of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi as the two authoritative interpreters of Bahá’u’lláh’sRevelation and also with the “learned arm” of the Faith, specifically the appointment

6

of the thirty-two Hands of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi between 1951 and1957 for the purposes of its protection and propagation.) However, it also meantthat the Church authorities controlled the development of Jesus’ Faith, and did nottake into consideration the spirituality of the people and how Jesus was workingthrough them. This is also understandable in that the laity was not educated enoughto be able to think for itself: it was a flock needing pastoral guidance (John 10:11-16) and, in a metaphorical sense, feeding (John 20:15-17).

Signs and SymbolsPart of the celebration of the Sacraments is the use of signs and symbols, whichderive their meaning from both the Old and New Testaments. Their purpose is toallow humanity to “express and perceive spiritual realities through physical signs andsymbols” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Section 1146). In the same waythat in the world of social relationships one uses actions, gestures and words, soalso the Catholic Church teaches that we need signs and symbols to conduct arelationship with God. In many cases these signs, symbols and rituals are born outof the social relationships of the day. Washing and anointing, breaking bread and soforth help to demonstrate the presence of God and our relationship with Him whilesimultaneously being practical activities in the contemporary social milieu. TheSacraments integrate all of these signs and symbols in ritualistic celebrations. The Church goes further than this in its use of symbol. St. Thomas Aquinas(1224-1274), the foremost Scholastic scholar and theologian and a major figure inthe medieval Roman Catholic Church, tells us that a sacrament is an “efficacioussymbol,” which means that what is symbolised happens. For example, the breadand wine at the Sacrament of the Eucharist (from the Greek word, eucharistos,meaning “grateful,” literally a “thank-offering” or “thanksgiving”) symbolise the Bodyand Blood of Jesus, but because the Eucharist is a Sacrament, Church teachingstates that what is symbolised actually happens: that is, the bread and wine actuallybecome the Body and Blood of Christ, while still remaining visibly bread and wine. Why is it necessary to give signs and symbols such importance? Why is it soimportant to insist that people believe that this bread and wine become the Bodyand Blood of Christ, when it is so obvious that they are merely bread and wine? Intoday’s world, does this belief in Transubstantiation recreate the image of fellowshipand community that was evident during the Last Supper? The answer possibly liesin people’s need in the past for the miraculous and mysterious. It also placed thepriest, who was representing Jesus at the altar, in a position of authority. Today,however, people are much less willing to accept this use of symbol and theauthoritarian, centralised model of Church that accompanies it. A new understandingof symbol is required. Bahá’u’lláh discusses symbols as follows:

Know verily that the purpose underlying all these symbolic terms and abstruse allusions, which emanate from the Revealers of God’s holy Cause, hath been to test and prove the peoples of the world; that thereby the earth of the pure and illuminated hearts may be knownfrom the perishable and barren soil. From time immemorial such hath

7

been the way of God amidst His creatures, and to this testify the records of the sacred books (Kitáb-i-Íqán, p. 49).

In this we learn that symbols are used by the different Manifestations to show uswhat God expects of us: they are a means of understanding God’s expectations.In the same way, Jesus used symbols to convey or reinforce His Teachings. Hespoke of shepherds (John 11:11-16) and fishermen (Matthew 4:18-22) in relation tohow His followers should act. He addressed the nature of fellowship by invokingthe analogies of the vine and its branches (John 15:1-9) and of bread and wine.Symbols have a purpose, they are a means to an end, not an end in themselves.To a large extent with the Catholic Church and its teaching on “efficacioussymbols,” this use of symbols has become an end in itself, where the symbol isoften more important than what it represents. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá clarifies that “Outwardforms and symbols must be used to convey intellectual conceptions” (SomeAnswered Questions, p. 83). He goes on to explain what this means by usingexamples:

...so the symbol of knowledge is light, and of ignorance, darkness; butreflect, is knowledge sensible light, or ignorance sensible darkness? No, theyare merely symbols. These are only intellectual states, but when you desireto express them outwardly, you call knowledge light, and ignorance darkness.You say: ‘My heart was gloomy, and it became enlightened.’ Now, that lightof knowledge, and that darkness of ignorance, are intellectual realities, notsensible ones; but when we seek for explanations in the external world, weare obliged to give them a sensible form. It is clear and evident that thesesigns have symbolic signification, and that they are not literal (p. 84).

Regardless of what Bahá’ís might feel regarding the application of ritual and the useof symbols as they apply to the Sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church, theyare an essential part of Church teaching. It is a core teaching of the Church thatthey are the “signs and instruments” by which the Holy Spirit spreads the Grace ofChrist to all believers. To certain Catholics, they are greater instruments than theactual teachings of the Bible. Perhaps the greatest sacramental instrument is that of the Eucharist. This iscommonly referred to as the Mass (from the Latin missa or “dismissal,” signifyingthe solemn dismissal by the priest of the baptised congregation after it had partakenof the Eucharist in the early Church) and it is obligatory on each Roman Catholicto attend Mass each Sunday and Holy Day.

The EucharistRecognised by the Catholic Church as “the source and summit of the Christian Life”(Vatican Documents: Lumen Gentium, Section 11), the Sacrament of the Eucharisthas as its basis the Last Supper of Jesus Christ portrayed in the synoptic Gospels.It was the night before He was to be crucified. The meal has a poignancy that didnot exist at any meal up to this. What added to its importance and solemnity wasthat it was also the Jewish Passover Meal (Pesach), which commemorated the

8

Exodus of the Jews from slavery in Egypt, an event, we are told, in which theangel of death passed over all the houses of the Jews and entered the homes ofthe Egyptians and killed their firstborn. As a consequence, Pharaoh released themfrom slavery (Exodus 12:31-32). Since then each year to commemorate this event,a Passover meal was prepared in each Jewish home, a long-established traditionwhich continues to this day. It included bread and wine, which were recognised as“the first fruits of the earth” and were offered as an acknowledgement of thegreatness of God. The bread was unleavened (without dough and therefore norfermented) to signify the Jews’ hasty escape from slavery. Central to thecommemoration was the celebration of Yahweh’s Covenant with His people, inwhich He promised to be faithful and loving to them in return for their acceptanceof Him as the One True God. It was at this most important time of the Jewishyear that Jesus chose to have His last meal with His closest followers. It is the belief of Christianity that Jesus was herewith establishing the newCovenant. At Passover a lamb was sacrificed and eaten. Under this new Covenant[Testament], Jesus was the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of theworld” (John 1:29). He had come to die for the sins of the world, a death thatwas imminent. This was a highly momentous occasion. All that had been said anddone by Jesus over the three years of His ministry was encapsulated in this meal.Because He was hosting the Passover Meal, Jesus “took bread, and blessed it, andbroke it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is My body’. AndHe took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink ye all of it;for this is my blood of the new testament [covenant], which is shed for many forthe remission [forgiveness] of sins’” (Matthew 26: 26-28). What is the meaning of these words? The Catholic Church takes them literally.By the Doctrine of Transubstantiation, Roman Catholics believe that at theConsecration of the Mass, which is a re-enactment of the Last Supper, thesubstance of the bread becomes Christ’s Body and the substance of the winebecomes His Blood. This was referred to above as an “efficacious symbol”, whichmeans that what is symbolised actually occurs. The bread and wine offered at thealtar are believed to become the actual Body and Blood of Christ. This doctrine,formulated at the Council of Trent in 1551, teaches that Christ is “whole and entirein each species”, that is, in the bread and in the wine. How does this happen? St.John Chrysostom (354-407), Bishop of Constantinople and Doctor of the Church, inhis book, De Proditione Judae, tells us that “the priest pronounces the words, buttheir power and grace are God’s,” while St. Thomas Aquinas informs us that thetransformation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ “cannotbe apprehended by the senses but only by faith which relies on divine authority”(Summa Theologica). The Catechism of the Catholic Church today tells us thatthis transformation happens “in a way surpassing understanding” (Article 1333). Thereis no rational explanation for this, so the believer is expected to takeTransubstantiation as an article of faith. Is there a different meaning to what Jesus was telling His disciples at the LastSupper? By going back to the Passover meal commemorated each year by theJews, we see that the bread and wine are symbolic of food that sustains life, whilethe lamb in the Old Testament was a sacrificial victim in rituals. Jesus tells His

9

listeners: “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and hewho believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6.35). Here Jesus is saying that He isthe real food of life. The bread symbolises the spiritual nourishment that He givesthrough His Teachings. In verses 49-51 of this same chapter, Jesus tells thoseassembled in Capernaum’s synagogue:

“Your fathers did eat of manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is thebread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, andnot die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any maneat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is myflesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

His listeners took offence at this last remark: “How can this man give us his fleshto eat?” (John 6:52). Even His disciples found His figurative use of bread to be“an hard saying; who can hear it?” (John 6:60), and “From that time many of[them] went back, and walked no more with him” (John 6:66) and were thereby“tested and proved,” as explained by Bahá’u’lláh with reference to symboliclanguage. Yet Jesus is the “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sins of theworld” (John 1:29). The new Covenant or agreement between God and His peopleis sealed by the shedding of Jesus’ blood in the same way that the shedding of thelamb’s blood at Passover (Exodus 12:7-13) brought about the safe passage of theIsraelites into the Promised Land. By His death and resurrection, Jesus is bringingabout the New Covenant, a Covenant which the Letter to the Hebrews explains asletting “us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith” (10:22). The image of bread has another meaning also. Jesus refers to Himself as the“bread of life.” He also says: “...the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit,and they are life” (John 6:63, emphasis added). The bread He gives is the spiritualnourishment or sustenance of His Teachings. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains that this “celestialfood is the divine bounties, the spiritual splendours, the heavenly teachings, theuniversal meaning of Christ. To eat is to draw near to Him and to drink is tobelieve in Him [John 6:35]” (Some Answered Questions, p. 98). He concludes bysaying: “Then it is clear that the bread and wine are symbols, which signified: Ihave given you My bounties and perfections, and when you have received thisbounty, you have gained eternal life and have partaken of your share and yourportion of the heavenly nourishment” (p. 98). Because the early Church took Jesus’ words literally, this non-symbolicinterpretation became the Sacrament of the Eucharist. As a result the spiritualmeaning of the Last Supper was clouded. The reasons for this misunderstanding maylie in the fact that during the formative period of the early Church, there weresimilar examples of sacred meals where bread and wine were consecrated. Amongthe Essenes, a monastic group from the desert areas, there existed a “commonmeal,” and according to the Damascus Document found among the Dead SeaScrolls in 1947, a priest blessed bread and wine. There is evidence that some ofthe members of the early Church had some contact with this group. There is alsoevidence of sacred meals partaken of by the Romans, where bread and wine wereconsecrated. It is probable that from these related examples of sacred meals, which

10

were part and parcel of the culture of the time, developed the concept of theEucharist, as celebrated at Mass today. The Eucharist, which began as the re-enactment of the Last Supper, evolved intowhat is called the Mass. It is one single act of worship and contains twofundamental parts. The Liturgy of the Word includes readings from the Gospel andthe Old and New Testaments, the homily or sermon given by the priest and theprayers of the faithful. This is followed by the Liturgy of the Eucharist, whichcomprises the offering of the gifts of bread and wine, the Consecration - where thebread and wine are blessed and changed into the Body and Blood of Christ - andfinally the faithful partake of that meal which is called Holy Communion. This presentformat seems to have developed early in the Church’s history. St. Justin (100-160CE), who wrote to a pagan emperor around the year 155 CE, records what theChristians did:

On the day of the sun, all who dwell in the city or country gather in thesame place. The memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophetsare read as much as time permits. When the reader has finished, he whopresides over those gathered admonishes and challenges them to imitate thesebeautiful things. Then we all rise together and offer prayers for ourselves andfor all others, wherever they may be, so that we may be found righteous byour life and actions, and faithful to the commandments, so as to obtaineternal salvation. When the prayers are concluded we exchange the kiss.Then someone brings bread and a cup of water and wine mixed together tohim who presides over the brethren. He takes them and offers praise andglory to the Father of the universe, through the name of the Son and of theHoly Spirit, and for a considerable time he gives thanks that we have beenjudged worthy of these gifts. When he had concluded the prayers andthanksgivings, all present give voice to the acclamation by saying ‘Amen’.When he who presides has given thanks and the people responded, thosewhom we call deacons give to those present the ‘eucharisted’ bread, waterand wine and take them to those who are absent (Apologiae, chapters 65-67).

There are many similarities between that account of the primitive Mass on theSabbath and the Bahá’í Nineteen Day Feast. The Feast constitutes the heart of theBahá’í community, and attendance, while not obligatory, is an important Bahá’í duty.‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained the significance of these Feasts: “The Nineteen Day Feastwas inaugurated by the Báb and ratified by Bahá’u’lláh in His Holy Book, theAqdas, so that people may gather together and outwardly show fellowship and love,that the Divine mysteries may be disclosed. The object is concord, that through thisfellowship hearts may become perfectly united, and reciprocity and mutual helpfulnessbe established” (The Nineteen Day Feast, p. 5). In just the same way that theMass is the most important community prayer of the Catholic Church and its centralact of worship, the Nineteen Day Feast is seen as the foundation of the WorldOrder of Bahá’u’lláh.

11

The Nineteen Day Feast has many similarities to the Mass in format. The firstpart is the spiritual or what is called the Devotional, which consists of reciting orchanting the prayers and the Writings of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá andto a certain degree corresponds to the Liturgy of the Word in the Mass. Thesecond part is general consultation on the affairs of the Faith. During this part, theLocal Spiritual Assembly, the ruling administrative body elected or formed by thelocal Bahá’í community each year, consults with the community and learns what thecommunity thinks and then studies the resolutions consulted upon and passed at theFeast. This corresponds to a large extent to the priest’s homily because the priestis the spiritual leader of the local parish; the main difference is that his sermon doesnot, like the consultative portion of the Feast, involve dialogue with the congregation.The third part of the Feast is the social. Here the host, who may be the owner ofthe house in which the Feast is held, prepares refreshments for the participants.Indeed, in the early Church, when numbers were small and the Eucharist wouldtake place in people’s homes, the host would prepare a meal. This is akin to theHoly Communion received by Catholics. When talking to Roman Catholics about theBahá’í Faith, there is an opportunity to mention the Feast and its place in the Faithand to introduce its similarities with the Mass as an explanation. For Catholics, the Mass is a very important celebration of the Christianexperience. It allows the community or parish to meet each Sunday to renew theirCovenant with God through Jesus Christ. Indeed, in the past in Ireland, as in othercountries, it also had a social dimension in that it allowed the neighbours and parishmembers to meet one another on a Sunday morning after the priest had bidden hiscongregation to “go in peace to love and to serve the Lord.” However, one cannot help thinking that if the Church had not misunderstood themeaning of what Jesus said at the Last Supper, that celebration would have beeneven more meaningful. By adopting the literal meaning of Jesus’ symbolic words, avery rich spiritual meaning was lost to countless generations of Catholic believers.Jesus’ redeeming message was clouded by the mystery and “magic” ofTransubstantiation. There must also have been good reason why the true meaning ofthe Last Supper was obscured in this way, however.

ConclusionIn this paper I have tried to give an outline of the general theology of theSacraments, which is quite difficult in that they have evolved into what the Churchexplains as a special encounter with God in and through Jesus, an encounter whichfills the participant with the Holy Spirit and bestows a Grace which enables thebeliever to draw closer to the Creator of all things, an encounter without which thebeliever cannot attain eternal life. While the Bahá’í Faith does not recognise theseSacraments, it is imperative that in speaking to Roman Catholics, Bahá’ís understandtheir significance in a believer’s life. Bahá’u’lláh has revealed:

The Word of God… is God’s all-pervasive grace, from which all grace dothemanate. It is an entity far removed above all that hath been and shallbe...Know thou, moreover, that the Word of God - exalted be His glory - is

12

higher and far superior to that which the senses can perceive, for it issanctified from any property or substance. It transcendeth the limitations ofknown elements and is exalted above all the essential and recognizedsubstances. It became manifest without any syllable or sound andis none butthe Command of God which pervadeth all created things (Kitáb-i-Íqán,pp. 140-141).

It should be remembered that the Word of God in the Bible is also a source ofGrace to the Roman Catholic. Indeed, increasing numbers of believers see the Bibleas being of greater significance in their lives than the Sacraments. Bahá’ís believethat because Jesus did not directly institute the Sacraments, they do not have thesame Divine impact or efficacy as the Word of God or Gospel. Bahá’u’lláh tells usthat the Sacraments are no longer necessary or essential, but to say this to adevout Roman Catholic is to dismiss a core article of their faith. As a Bahá’í who was once an active believer in Roman Catholicism, I feel thatwhen speaking to followers of the Catholic Church, it is vital to understand wherethey “are coming from.” In this paper I have tried to explain the teaching behindthe Sacraments and particularly the Sacrament of the Eucharist, while at the sametime offering a Bahá’í perspective that will allow for dialogue between both Faiths. Ifeel that it is only in such a spirit of sensitive and constructive dialogue that RomanCatholics - who constitute the world’s largest and most widespread Christiandenomination - will begin to consider investigating the Bahá’í Faith and that Bahá’ísthemselves will consort with Catholics in a more focused and positive way.

Bibliography‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions (Wilmette, Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1981;

first published 1908)Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Íqán: The Book of Certitude, trans. Shoghi Effendi (Bahá’í

Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1985)The Nineteen Day Feast (Bahá’í Publishing Trust, London, 1989)Catechism of the Catholic Church (Veritas Publishers, Dublin, 1994, 1995)Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents, edited by Austin

Flannery, O.P., (Dominican Publications and Talbot Press, Dublin, 1975)The New King James Version of the Bible